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Working with Girls Learning Code to Save the Bees!
By: Benefits by Design | Thursday May 24, 2018
Updated : Wednesday June 22, 2022
Benefits by Design was a community-level sponsor for Canada Learning Code’s 2018 Girls Learning Code Day in Kingston, Ontario.
The Kingston Chapter of Canada Learning Code hosted a sold out Girls Learning Code Day event at the Tett Centre for Creativity and the Learning in Kingston, Ontario on May 12, 2018. Benefits by Design (BBD) Inc. was proud to support a local chapter in reaching their goal.
Girls Learning Code Day (#glcCodeDay) is a national event that happens each year in May. In 2018, Girls Learning Code Day celebrated its 5th year with a game production workshop. Over 30 cities across Canada participated, educating 650 female identified youth between the ages of 8-12 (and their guardians) in the basics of computer programming. In this collaborative experience, learners work together to build a video game that addresses a social issue – saving the bees.
Social Impact
The bee population has been steadily declining over the past few years. Pesticide use and habitat loss are two of the large culprits. In 2018, the Ontario Beekeepers Society stated that almost 7 in 10 Ontario beekeepers suffered unsustainable losses.
Bees make more than honey! Since they’re natural pollinators, they are essential to food production and agriculture. A third of the food we eat depends on pollinating insects. Fruits and vegetables like zucchini and apricots need bees to help them grow.
Not only does our food rely on bees, but BBD’s brand relies on them as well. Everything from our logo to our colours invoke images of the bee. BBD felt that it was our corporate social responsibility to encourage youth to explore ways to save the bees.
Digital Literacy Education
Supported by educators from the Limestone District School Board and the Kingston Chapter of CAGIS, 20 girls and their guardians turned up for an afternoon of learning, coding, and fun!
Girls Learning Code Day offers girls hands-on experience, inspiring them to see technology in a whole new light. This event offers youth the opportunity to develop their problem solving and decision making skills while also allowing them to express themselves creatively.
Using micro projects, learners are able to experience the rewarding impact creating technology can have while building tenacity, computational thinking, and communication skills. Events like this also help our local area girls gain confidence learning new skills in a social and collaborative way.
It also brings heightened awareness to a social issue that stands to impact the future. Without bees, we stand to lose more than just another insect – but also a primary driver of our food source. We couldn’t be prouder of our local area Kingston girls for taking on this challenge.
Learn more about Canada Learning Code and their initiatives.
Corporate Social Responsibility is more than just a buzzword at BBD — it’s something we live by!
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